Love and winter in Pallet
by Kururu soucho boy
Summary: While Ash is home with his Mom in Pallet town Anabel comes over. Abilityshipping.


Disclaimer: I have never owned pokemon and never will.

The scenery of Pallet Town was nothing short of amazing. The sky was a beautiful shade of gray, with pearly white clouds cascading the atmosphere. Vast flurries of snow filled the air, and blended in with the ice-covered ground as they landed. No one could travel on a Pokémon journey in the landscape because of the heavy snowfall and freezing air. However, this weather was near perfect for playing outdoors if the person had the proper clothing. Years ago, the town of Pallet would have filled with children who enjoy the time off from school; but now, only one child remained, and he did not enjoy the winter weather as he could…

"Aw man! I can't believe it!" sixteen-year-old Ash Ketchum shouted aloud while leaning on the living room window.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" his mother, Delia, asked as she stepped in the room. He sighed, "It's been a while since it snowed in Pallet Town like this."

"Then you should go out and enjoy it," she suggested with a smile.

"I would, but…" he paused, "for as long as I played out there, I always had one or more of my friends to play with me. It was always me, Gary, Luna, and Anita. We always used to have snowball fights; we would build snowmen; and when it gets late, we would come inside and you would fix us hot cocoa."

Delia's smile faded as she herself remembered those times, "That's true."

"Now… Gary is getting back into Pokémon training, Luna is competing in the Orange League, I haven't heard from Anita since she moved away; and I'm about to go to the Sinnoh Region soon."

"Don't forget, Ash, you do have your new friends like Misty, Brock, and May."

"Pikachu, Pika-pi!" the mouse Pokémon agreed. That's right, Ash!

"I know, but Misty and Brock are in their hometowns, May is going to Jotho while Max went back home to Hoenn; Tracey's probably really busy helping Prof. Oak; and that's just naming a few of my friends,"

"Pika pi-pikachu pika-pika chu-pikachu," said Pikachu, "Pika chu pikachu." "I miss all of the Pokémon we met on our journey. It's not the same without them"

"Yeah, I know how you feel, buddy," Ash replied scratching the back of his friend's head. At that moment, he froze and seemed to drift into space.

"Pikapi?" "Ash?"

"Ash, is something wrong?" his mother asked.

"Uh, no Mom, I'm okay. I think I will go upstairs for a little bit. Maybe later, I will go out and play with my Pokémon. After all, they're my friends too."

Pikachu looked confused as he watched his trainer and best friend go upstairs. He was wondering why Ash did not want to go outside right now. Then, his trainer's words echoed in his head. Ash had to be thinking about Anabel. This made a lot of sense. After all, Anabel was a very sweet girl, she and Ash got along incredibly well, and she loves Pokémon as much as Ash does. What was there not to love?

Pikachu himself had to admit that Anabel's Espeon was cute; and he probably would have said something to her if he had the chance.

Delia sat down and invited Pikachu onto her lap. She knew and understood that Ash really wanted to have a human friend to play and talk with, like in the past. She also knew that none of his friends could reach Pallet Town as she had hoped they would. Thick blankets of snow covered not only Pallet Town, but also almost all of Kanto and other surrounding regions.

She also recognized the sudden change in her son's demeanor. Her motherly instincts told her that when Ash said he knew how Pikachu felt, he instantly remembered someone else. To make him stiffen up as he did, it had to be someone who he had deep feelings for and wanted to see more than ever. "My little boy is finally in love," Delia thought gleefully, "But I guess neither Misty nor May is the one, though. So I wonder…" A knock at the door interrupted Delia's thoughts. As she gently set Pikachu down, she answered the door to see a young girl, who she did not recognize, standing in front of her.

"Hello, can I help you?" Delia asked trying to be polite despite her confusion. Her tension eased when Pikachu quickly leaped from the sofa and jumped into the girl's arms.

"Pika!" he said snuggling up to her. Anabel!

"It's good to see you, Pikachu," said the girl as she petted his head. He jumped down from the girl's arm; and just as he landed, a pink feline/canine-like Pokémon pounced on him and began affectionately licking his face. Both and Mrs. Ketchum and Anabel laughed heartily at the sight, then the girl asked, "Is Ash home?"

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In his room, Ash laid on his bed staring at the ceiling thinking about what just happened a few minutes ago. He always noted times in the past, when his friends like Misty and Brock always called him dense for not noticing romantic events going on around him – and sometimes, he believed it himself. Now all of a sudden, he was thinking about Anabel. "Well, this really isn't the first time I've thought about her," he recalled mentally, "but still… this is the first time I ever got nervous thinking about her."

"I need to lay off sugar before bedtime," he concluded. He then heard his door knocking. "Come in."

No answer. "I said come in!"

There was still no answer. Raising an eyebrow, he got up to answer the door. When he opened the door, he got the biggest shock of his life. His brain began racing a thousand miles a minute, but his voice completely shut down and his mouth hanged open. The girl giggled, even though she was a little surprised at the reaction she's getting.

"Hi," she said sweetly. By this time, he managed to return to normal.

"A-A-Anabel!?" he stammered as he stared at the stunning girl in front of him. She wore a light-blue long-sleeve sweater, charcoal gray shorts, black stockings and brown boots. Whatever composure Ash had recovered, by the time he spoke, was quickly lost again when Anabel lunged herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's great to see you again, Ash," she whispered.

Ash's tension slowly melted away from her embrace; and when he gained enough courage to do so, he returned the embrace, "It's great to see you too, Anabel," he said. Curiosity got the better of him, so he loosened his hold on her so he could face her and ask, "What are you doing here?"

"Well… I heard from Scott that you defeated Brandon and you were about to travel to another region," she explained while her face started turning red, "So, um, I wanted to see again before you left."

"So you came here… even through the snow??" the trainer asked clearly astounded.

"Sure," Anabel chuckled, "I figured, with the heavy snow outside, even you would get held back."

"Very funny," Ash smirked but then thought of something, "Hey wait a second. The roads here were covered in snow. How did you get here?"

"The roads near my home were cleared enough for a taxi to go through; but after that, Espeon and I had to walk to reach your house. It was worth the effort, though."

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Pikachu and Espeon were in the kitchen with Mrs. Ketchum, admiring the smell of the roast being prepared. Every now and then, Mrs. Ketchum's Mr. Mime had to wipe off the drool there faces and off the floor around them; and sometimes, he had to swat them back to keep them from getting in the way. Irritated, but in no position to do anything so the two decided to watch TV for a while. Pikachu jumped on the sofa first and invited Espeon to sit next to him. She did just that, but she then snuggled up next to the yellow mouse and smiled. Pikachu had to try very hard to keep his cool.

"Hey Mom," Ash called, "Anabel and I are going outside!"

Mrs. Ketchum looked back in her son's direction, and giggled at what she saw. Ash and Anabel appeared to be holding hands, as the girl was almost dragging him with her.

"Alright, Ashy," Delia replied. Ash flinched when he heard that nickname again, while Anabel snickered at his embarrassment as she reached for her outdoor gear. She had a lavender cost with buttons in the front and a belt at the waistline; and inside its pockets were a pair of white mittens and a white scarf. Hanging next to her coat was a moss-green heavy jacket with brown-trimmed hood. Inside the jacket's pocket were an orange beanie-cap, chocolate brown gloves, and an orange and yellow-striped scarf. Since the clothes were the same size as her own, Anabel could assume they belonged to Ash.

"Dinner won't be ready for a while; so you two have plenty of time to play around. Anabel, why don't you stay for dinner?"

"I'd love to," the Frontier Brain accepted happily, "Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum! Come on, Ashy. Let's go!"

---------------------------

When the couple walked outside, they stopped to gaze at the scenery around them. The snowstorm subsided down to a steady yet pleasant snowfall. The view was reminiscent of a snow globe or a greeting card. "So, what should we do first, Ash?"

Not completely answering her, the boy let himself fall back where he landed the in soft snow; and he waved his arms and legs making a snow angel. "Where's the rush, Annie?" Ash replied, "We've got plenty of time to play around."

Anabel looked down and smiled at him, "Always the relaxed one, aren't…?" she paused, and then frowned, "Wait! Did you just call me 'Annie'?"

"Yep! I thought that'd be okay after you called me 'Ashy'."

"I hate it when people call me that!"

"Even better."

"Ash, you jerk!" Anabel shouted again, but giggled afterwards, "I guess I had that coming. So, are we even?"

Ash sat up and thought about it, and then he turned his back to his companion, "Yeah, I guess…NOT!"

Before she knew it, Ash threw a snowball at her, knocking down on her rear end. Pikachu and Espeon sweat dropped. They knew Ash was in trouble now. Anabel slowly removed the snow from her face and smirked at Ash. Without saying a word, she began gathering snow in her hand. Ash already knew she was going to try to use it on him; and she knew he was expecting it too, so she had to make him drop his guard somehow. Anabel continued building up the snowball until it was larger than a grapefruit.

Pikachu and Espeon glanced at each other in confusion, while Pikachu's trainer and best friend focused at the size of Anabel's icy projectile so intently that he forgot why it was there. At that moment, Anabel quickly threw the now dodge ball-sized snowball at the boy before realized what was going on. The sheer impact knocked him down. The Pokémon cringed and shook their heads. "NOW we're even," Anabel chuckled as she brushed herself off, "I bet you won't do that again."

"That's really cute, Anabel," Ash said as he got up, "If it's a fight you want, then a fight you'll get!"

The boy scooped up another snowball and hurled at his friend who dodged it.

"Hey Ash, how about we build a snowman?" the lavender-haired girl suggested, receiving a nod for her friend.

The kids, with the help of their Pokémon, gathered up snow from around his yard. Ash to make sure neither he nor Anabel disturb his mother's flower gardens. Anabel used a shovel to get the snow in one place while Ash, Pikachu, and Espeon shaped the snow into a sphere shape. While they were busy, Anabel decided to strike up a conversation with Ash, "So Ash, did you get a chance to play in the snow when you were younger?"

"I sure did," Ash replied, "before I became a Pokémon trainer, I had a group of friends I used to hang out with all the time. We called ourselves the Color Crew."

"The Color Crew?"

"Yep. My nickname was Red; Gary, my old rival's nickname was Blue; Luna, the oldest girl in the group, was nicknamed Green; and Anita, the youngest out of all of us, was nicknamed Yellow. We got our titles after our favorite Pokémon," the boy explained further, "Before I met Pikachu, my favorite Pokémon was Charmander, Gary's favorite was Squirtle, Luna's favorite was Bulbasaur, and Anita's favorite Pokémon was Pikachu."

"That's so cute," Anabel giggled, "So what would my nickname be… if I were part of the group?"

"I bet you would be called 'Violet', since Espeon is your favorite."

"That makes sense."

As the group continued building the snowman, Anabel went inside for a few seconds and came back with some buttons and a handful of charcoal. Ash and Anabel made the larger bottom half, while Pikachu and Espeon made the smaller top half for the head. Next, Ash took the snowman's head and placed it atop it body carefully so that he does not mess up the body.

Finally, Anabel took some of the pieces of charcoal and placed two of them on the snowman's new face. Using smaller charcoal, she made a mouth for the snowman, and with the few loose buttons she had, the Frontier Brain placed them on the snowman's abdomen, giving the appearance of it wearing a coat.

"How's this, Ash?" Anabel asked. The boy placed a hand under his chin, "Not bad."

"Not bad!? I think this is a really good snowman!"

"Oh, I forgot; this is the first time you've made a snowman with me before," Ash remembered, "When I was younger, my friends and I would make snow-Pokémon."

"Really?"

"Yeah, let me show you!"

Ash took some more snow into his hands, formed the mound into a cone shape, and stuck it onto the right side of the snowman head. He repeated the process and stuck the new cone into the other side of the snowman's head, making the appearance of ears.

"Now it looks like a Pikachu!" Ash proclaimed. Anabel had a different view, "Not yet."

She went over to the snow-Pikachu and removed the charcoal eyes and mouth, and replaced them with drawn-in eyes and a cat-like smile, making the icy statue look more like a Pikachu.

"That's great, Anabel! …but it's still missing something."

Anabel went over to the boy and gently tugged on his scarf and asked, "How about this?"

Ash blushed when she did this, but smiled and replied, "Sure, why not?" He then removed his scarf and placed it around the snow-Pikachu. "That's perfect!! What do you think, Pikachu?"

His mouse Pokémon jumped atop the snow and gave his trainer a "Pika" of approval, only to be snowballed by Espeon who giggled in amusement. Pikachu returned the favor by pouncing on her, causing them to tumble around in the snow, and earning a good laugh from their trainers.

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A few hours later into the nighttime, Ash, Anabel, and their Pokémon went inside due to the snowfall becoming heavier. Mrs. Ketchum treated the teens to hot chocolate while they watched TV. Pikachu had already fallen asleep for the night, and Espeon had curled up next to him asleep as well.

"When will you be leaving?" Anabel asked Ash as she sipped some of her cocoa. After looking at the weather report, he signed and replied, "I guess when the weather clears up. Why do you ask?"

The girl blushed when he posed the question, "I was wondering if you needed a traveling partner when you go to Sinnoh."

Ash blushed as well, "Well…It usually doesn't happen that way. I mean… nobody usually asks if they could travel with me before I go, but I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Here's a blanket if you decided to sleep down here, Ash," Delia said as she handed the blanket to her son.

"Thanks Mom, I was getting kind of tired anyway."

When Ash opened up the comforter, he noticed it was far too big for him alone. He stole a glance at Anabel, who did not seem to be paying attention now, and thought carefully before doing something he might regret. After noticed her yawn, he offered her some room under the blanket with him. The girl smiled and accepted his offer. Once Anabel was situated, she rested her head on Ash's shoulder. The boy did not mind this at all.

"Ash…?" she asked while were closed.

"What is it, Anabel?"

"Remember that time when I asked you to try and sense what was in my heart?"

"Yeah, I remember that. I didn't do too well that time."

"That's okay," she chuckled, then opened her eyes, "…I want you to try again."

"What do you mean?"

"When you have a good friendship with someone, it's always good to know how they feel, so that you can be in a better position to help them in their time of need."

"That makes sense," Ash concluded, "Okay, I'll try again."

"Alright. If you are stuck, try guessing. Or you can try closing your eyes to help you concentrate better."

"Okay."

Ash stared into Anabel's eyes with his own with the same concentration he gave as before. When a moment passed, Ash gave his trademark grin, "Well, I'm not sure if this is exactly what's in your heart, but…" he paused, then he closed his eyes and pressed his lips softly against her own. Anabel was startled at first, but it did not take long before she closed her eyes and deepened the kiss. After at least a minute passed, they finally broke the kiss.

"How did you know?" Anabel asked breathlessly.

"I didn't know," Ash replied with a sheepish grin, "I guess I was just going by what was in my heart as well."

"You never cease to amaze me, Ash," Anabel smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder once again, "I guess that's why I love you so much."

Ash smiled back, "I love you too, Anabel."

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The next day, the sky finally cleared up, and Ash and Anabel were more than ready to leave for the Sinnoh region.

"Pikachu, Anabel, are you guys ready?" Ash asked with excitement.

"I'm ready!" Anabel replied.

"Pika!"

As Ash opened the door, Scott was already standing there waiting.

"What's up, Ash?" the portly man greeted. Ash blinked for a second before returning the greeting, "Hey Scott! What are you doing here?"

"I figured, with the snowstorm, you would be stuck here; but now that the weather is clear, I can see that you're ready to go," Scott explained, then looked at Anabel, "Anabel, are you ready to return to the Battle Tower?"

Anabel shook her head, "Actually, I'm going to travel to Sinnoh with Ash. Being a Frontier Brain was great, but I really want to see the world and meet and befriend as many Pokemon as I can. I hope this won't be a problem, Scott."

"Why am I not surprised?" Scott said scratching his head, "Well this is a setback, but if that's what you want, then I don't any problem. You two take care of yourselves in Sinnoh, and I'll see you again someday."

"Thanks Scott," the two kids said in unison, "We will."

Ash would not know what would be ahead of him in the Sinnoh Leauge; but with a new goal in sight, and Anabel there to support him, Ash felt confident he would be ready to take on any challenge on the road to becoming a Pokemon Master. 


End file.
